How to,
How to
A Guide to Finding the Right Solution
About: This project came about as the result of numerous user complaints regarding the usability of proprietary company software products.
Overview: The goal of this project was to identify, develop, & implement a solution that would guide users how to complete complex tasks utilizing existing company websites & web apps. That solution, was iorad.
Background: Company software platforms contained no hints, tutorials, or built-in support to guide users (both employees & clients) on technical functionality. Historically, PDFs, Screen Recordings, Screenshots, and 6+ hour instructional calls were provided as a means of educating users on these platforms. As the company grew and obtained more clients, so did the number of complaints, which soon revealed the inefficiency of such methods.
Problems
User Complaints.
User confusion regarding proprietary systems resulting in an overwhelming amount of staff hours being consumed with providing technical "walkthroughs" of existing online business processes.
- Inefficient existing training methods: PDFs, long calls, etc.
- Lack of automated support for new users
- Users have difficulty navigating the site/platform
- Users overwhelmed by highly complex tasks with no hints
- Users struggle to complete basic tasks due to lack of guidance
- New staff lack proper training on proprietary platforms
- Financial impact: $500K+/yr spent on system training
- Staff impact: 200K+ hours/yr spent on system training
Objectives
Business Goals.
To provide a user-friendly, seamless solution that would have a significant impact on user guidance support requests regarding system functionality and usability.
- Eliminate the need for pdf or video walkthroughs
- Cut time spent on platform training by +50%
- Cut onboarding expenses related to user guidance by +50%
- Empower new users to be independently functional after 1 month
- To create a standardized system for user guidance/training
- To cut employee system learning curve from 6 to 2 months
- To decrease overall confusion on proprietary systems by +50%
Measurements & Analysis
Approach.
- Tracking total number of tutorial completions, repeat completions, & tutorial users
- Tracking total time spent on tutorials
- Tracking total # hours of hands-on training
- Analyzing remaining user feedback on site issues & tutorial usability & efficiency
Competitive Analysis
During the early research stages, a competitive analysis was conducted to determine the best solution.
Slides
Quizzes
Watch
- Highly customizable
- Easy to use
- Ideal for complex processes
- Very interactive / engaging
- Endless integrations
- Detailed analytics metrics
- Learning curve
- “Easy professional training in minutes.”
- “Strong tool for interactive tutorials!”
- “Game changer for documenting processes”
Video
- Ideal for simple processes
- Step-by-step guides
- Easy to use
- Basic analytics
- Lack of customization
- Not suitable for complexity
- No video exports
- No integrations
- Significant bugs / errors
- Challenging edit process
- “Great concept, terrible execution”
- “Good for keeping track of tasks.”
- “It takes time to clean up”
Tooltips / Hints
Quizzes
Watch
- Many customization options
- Somewhat easy to use
- Suitable for intermediate complexity processes
- Various integrations
- Basic analytics
- Helpful support team
- Limited sharing / integrations
- Frequent Bugs
- Limited interactive options
- Very hands-on
- “Good tool for enhancing user experience”
- “Super simple to use.”
- “Very customizable onboarding software”
Reasoning
iorad was chosen as the best solution for the company's specific use cases: highly complex processes in an unfamiliar environment. Due to its existing integration with FreshDesk (a platform frequently used by the company to receive & organize technical user requests), iorad stood out from the other options as the most powerful and efficient user guidance tool.
MY ROLE
User Research
Conducting research on reasonable potential solutions, user feedback, & market trends
UX / UI Design
Designing fundamental UX/UI components to ensure full functionality
User Testing
Testing the solution with real users to determine impact, gathering feedback
UI Audit
Performing Ul audits. make sure nothing goes wrong throughout design/launch
Project Manager
Leading a small team of cross-functional individuals on a tight deadline
Product Manager
Managing all phases of the product - from conceptualization through development
Value Add Proposition
Describes the value this solution will bring to users along with the benefits it will provide to the overall business.
Efficiency
- Enhancing the power of existing systems by automatically & effortlessly providing educational training
- More efficiency creates a better product for users
Financial
- Significant savings on onboarding costs ($600K+/yr)
- Significant reduction in employee hours spent providing training (300+/yr)
Consistency
- Identical, branded user guides across all platforms
- Consistent verbiage & user guidance language across all tutorials
Client / Users
- Increased efficiency
- Simplified training process
- Increased productivity
- More available time for higher-value tasks
Staff / Users
- Increased efficiency
- Simplified training process
- Increased productivity
- More available time for higher-value tasks
Design Process
Empathize
Understood and experience the users’ problems
Define
Established consensus on key users needs & business priorities
Ideate
Proposed & analyzed potential product solutions / approaches
Design
Transformed wireframes & notes into a working prototype
Test / Deploy
Tested, retested & launched the software
Secondary Research
I compiled the results of several reliable resources surveying over 1500 users of iorad to know their views, experience and to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Feedback was gathered on their experience before vs. after using iorad.
Before iorad
How often do you find yourself confused when using proprietary systems?
After iorad
Would you rather: read a PDF, watch a 6 hr training video, or watch a 10 minute tutorial?
Before iorad
Do you feel productive while using proprietary systems?
After iorad
Do you think iorad has made an impact on company onboarding costs and / or employee / client performance?
User Interviews
I interviewed 15+ users about their experience with proprietary software systems, and analyzed similarities or differences in their feedback.
Aria Johansson
It would be very easy for me to understand how to use this site if I could take a quick tutorial first.
Gabriela Martien
I sometimes feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, so I just reach out to my helpdesk representative.
Carmela Kamilla
I like to be able to get things done quickly, so using this site can be frustrating for me because it takes so long to complete a single task.
User Persona
I want to be more efficient while using proprietary systems and platforms – a simple & user-friendly guide would be very helpful.
David is a dedicated apparel business owner who has been running his family business for over 20 years. His understanding of new technology is low, but he has years of experience working in the industry and utilizing various software platforms. He has a high school education and spends more of his time on the phone than at a computer. Lack of user support/guidance will severely impact his productivity and could potentially result in a negative financial impact for his entire company.
- Hardworking
- Smart Interested
- Critical-Thinking
- Open to change
- Productive
- Complete daily tasks with little/no assistance
- No need to ask for help on any major processes
- Immediate access to assistance when needed
- Access to training manuals, guides, and shareable links
- No need to train his own employees on 3rd party systems/platforms
- Inefficient systems & platforms.
- Lack of proper technical support on 3rd party platforms causing confusion.
- Frequent changes to various aspects of 3rd party platforms.
- Confusing or complex processes.
- Confusing or complex training guides.
Empathy Map
An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It helps to synthesize research data to understand how people make decisions.
What do they
THINK?
What do they
SAY?
USER
What do they
FEEL?
What do they
DO?
User Journey
Touch Points
by # of steps
the simplicity
the simplicity
knowledge of
new process
Action
Journey
- This all makes so much more sense now.
- I am able to accomplish my tasks much more efficiently now.
- I can understand the true value of this product now.
- These steps make sense to me - now I can complete every process on my own.
- I'm done!
- That was so much faster, simpler, & easier than before!
Opportunities
- Encourage user for completing
- Encourage them to watch another tutorial or save the current one for the future.
Information Architecture
Before building these user guide tutorials, each component of every tutorial was arranged to form the "Information Architecture." This served to organize each detail that would be included in each tutorial. Such organization allowed me to adhere to the requirements for each tutorial. As a result, users would be able to navigate complex sets of information with ease.
User Flow
The user flow provides a potential path a user might take to achieve their desired outcome.
Takeaways
1
Users prefer automated tutorials over manual training (PDFs, videos, meetings, etc.)
2
Automated tutorials save time, $$, & increase productivity & efficiency.
3
Users value products they understand & can easily learn how to use.
4
Automated tutorials are an ideal way to simplify & improve employee onboarding.
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